The American Friends Service Committee continues its anti-privatization working group meetings regarding private prisons in Arizona. The meeting is tonight, 5:30 p.m. at the AFSC office, 103 N Park Ave, #111. Park on the streets. Entrance is in the back of the building. anti-privatization meeting tonight was canceled due to all that winter crud going around.

If you are interested in getting on their e-mail list and going to future meetings, e-mail Caroline Isaacs at CIsaacs@afsc.org.

Recommendation: The AFSC Tucson office is keeping on top of everything related to the private prison industry. You can keep up, too, by checking out their blog, Cell-Out AZ.

The latest post is a report on a lawsuit filed on behalf of Hawaiian prisoners at the Corrections Corporation of America's Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy. According to a Honolulu Courthouse News article, guards stripped, beat, and kicked the prisoners and threatened to kill them in retaliation for a prison disturbance over the summer that injured a CCA employee. The prisoners were also denied prompt medical treatment for their injuries in an effort to conceal evidence of the abuse.

Other great posts include one on Gov. Jan Brewer's Commission on Privatization and Efficiency (COPE - yep, great acronym), which is mandated to "explore more cost-effective strategies for administration of appropriate programs through streamlining, consolidation and privatization," like more private prisons.

The Range is following up right now on a final COPE report that was supposed to be released the end of the year. Per usual, there's more to come regarding private prisons in Arizona.

If you are concerned about the growing private prison industry in Arizona, consider going to the AFSC meeting tonight.