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DAILYREPUBLIC.COM | Well said. Well read.

Greek Food Festival gives visitors a taste of the islands Susan Hiland

SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — George Kalis of Fairfield leaned over the grill, tossing the chicken from one side to the other. His jug of homemade spices sat next to the grill, with a pan full of olive oil on the table. He remembers his father cooking chicken for church events, family barbecues and being told, “someday, when you are tall enough to see the back of the grill, then you can start cooking.” He hit that mark years ago, and towers over the grill today. Kalis is the chicken “guy” for the Greek Food Festival at the Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church each year. “That day came and I have been cooking ever since,” Kalis said. His parents are long gone but he continues sharing his her-

itage with others through the festival. Kalis remembers coming to the area in 1963, and his parents joined the church. “Back then, the festival was at the Solano Fairgrounds. It was there for years,” he said. He hopes that visitors on Saturday were able to take away from the day a love of food and culture. “They get to see oldschool Greek cooking, and the culture of the church,” he said. Money raised from the day’s event helps support the church’s outreach programs, which help feed the homeless, and for general maintenance. This incarnation of the festival began a few years ago, but the idea of a Greek festival began many years before that, as the Gyro Food Festival. About three years See Greek, Page A9

Susan Hiland/Daily Republic

John Romas bakes pizza in the wood stove during the Greek Food Festival, a fundraiser for the Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Vallejo, Saturday.

State promises better care for inmates as they leave prison Don Thompson KFF HEALTH NEWS

California has agreed to improve health care for newly released prison inmates who are disabled, including through a series of measures that advocates say will help almost everyone trying to make the transition from incarceration. Attorneys representing inmates say proper care during the transition from prison has long been lacking and can lead to homelessness. A recent study found that 1 in 5 Californians experiencing homelessness came from an institution such as prison or jail. The state agreed in June to release inmates with a 60-day supply of their prescription medications, up from the previous 30-day requirement, and promised to replace medical equipment lost within the first

month of an inmate’s being released from prison. Officials will also submit applications for Medi-Cal, California’s version of Medicaid, on their behalf at least 90 days before they’re discharged. The agreement will benefit at least 11,000 parolees who have physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities, or nearly a third of the state’s 36,000 parolees, inmates’ attorneys estimated. But many of the provisions will aid most inmates being released, even those without a qualifying disability. The improvements “should help shut the revolving door between homelessness and incarceration that prevents far too many people with disabilities from succeeding on parole and reintegrating into the community,” See Inmates, Page A9

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file (2019)

Ribbon cutting attendees walk around the Rourk Vocational Center, Jan. 29, 2019.

GRAND JURY:

Solano Sheriff’s Office not managing jail costs, assets Daily Republic Staff

DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — The 2022-23 Solano County civil grand jury issued a critical report on how the Sheriff’s Office is managing costs and assets at the local jails. “Due to changes in state law and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, among other potential factors, the Custody Division has seen a 39% reduction in its average daily (inmate) population over the last six years. This has resulted in a drop in the detention facility occupancy rate in the county from 65% down to 37%,” the July 3 report states in its summary. “While it might be expected that a dramatic reduction in the number of detainees would result in a similar drop in custodial staff, that has not been the case. In fact, during this same period, the county custodial staff has only experienced a 2.5% reduction.

As a result, the average annual cost of housing each detainee in the county has increased from $65,329 in 2017 to $139,430 in 2022,” the report states. The grand jury called on the county’s budget officer “to take an active role helping correctional FERRARA administrators overcome obstacles that make it difficult to reallocate dollars to communitybased treatments.” It also noted among is three findings and corresponding recommendations that the Sheriff’s Office should “revisit leasing available detention facility beds to other jurisdictions,” explore greater use of the Rourk Vocational Training Center at the Claybank Detention Facility, and look for ways to save money by use of technology, “including video and body cameras, website visitations, and

other information technology updates.” Sheriff Tom Ferrara has said in the recent past that with more state prison inmates, many with violent histories, the kind of skills training programming envisioned for Roark is no longer possible. The grand jury also recommended that the “Custody Division evaluate alternate use of their facilities for less restrictive alternatives. Consider an electronic monitoring center, increase work furlough programs, and the use of less restrictive community-based Adult Residential Facilities or transitional housing.” The findings and recommendations in the report are: n FINDING 1 – The bed rate calculation, which include custody expenses used by the Sheriff’s See Jury, Page A9

Ukraine and expansion top NATO agenda as Biden tries to cement unity Tribune Content Agency WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and fellow leaders of NATO will come together next week extolling their remarkable unity backing Ukraine in its war with Russia. But serious differences over expansion of the transatlantic alliance threaten to disrupt the harmony and turn the annual summit on its head. Cohesion among the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s members has also been jeopardized by the war having become a seemingly interminable slog. Even Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said a long-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian invaders is not going as well as he hoped. NATO’s gathering in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius will focus world leaders on how to help nonmember Ukraine, including what kind of military aid to provide and what a longer-term

Roman Pilipey/Getty Images/TNS file

spent or pledged $75 billion to shore up the Ukrainian military and state, and has authorized allies to send their U.S.-produced fighter jets into the battlefield. Biden has coaxed other European nations to pony up for the war effort, including convincing Germany to give lethal weaponry to a foreign land for the first time since World War II. Aides say the president hopes the Vilnius summit will showcase his efforts to rebuild international partnerships that

Residents gather at the site where an apartment building was hit during Russian drone attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 30. security arrangement International Studies who should look like – whether specializes in Europe. or not it includes future See Biden, Page A9 The U.S. has already membership in the alliance. The summit comes in the wake of an aborted mutiny against SALE Russian President Vladimir Putin by the Come See Our ur Savings From paramilitary Wagner June 30th Group, which leaders July 17th are still analyzing. Living • Dining D i •H Di Home Offi Of Office • Bedroom “All eyes will be on Vilnius to see what the so-called Ukraine package will look like,” said Sean Monaghan, a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and

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