THE DAYS OF WINE OR PRISONS IN LOMPOC

The wine industry has discovered that Lompoc is one of the few areas that
is cool enough and foggy enough to produce the grapes that go into premium
wines.

While it will take five years for the grapes being planted along Highway
246 to mature, Lompoc may see economic benefits from the wine industry sooner.

The grape processing plant/wine tasting room proposed for the old Grefco
site should infuse $50 million into the local economy annually.

According to Vic Motto, industry analyst, most communities welcome the wine
industry because in the past it has proven to be recession-proof. The wine
industry is considered a growth industry since beer drinkers are switching
to wine.

Motto further said that vineyards require extensive capital improvements.
This translates into jobs and higher property tax revenue to the county.

The other entity looking to expand into Lompoc is The Federal Bureau of
Prisons. The FBOP proposes to build a 1,000 bed high-security prison,
adding to the four existing federal facilities in Lompoc. FBOP officials
are quick to point out that the town will benefit from the $4.1 million in
salaries generated by the influx of 250 new staff.

If you divide 250 into 4.1 million you calculate that prison employees
would earn an average of $16,400. These new staffers will not easily fit
into the local community. According to a 1999 market study 23 percent of
Lompoc residence earn $50,000-$75,000 annually. The average selling price
of a home is $166,000.

While expansion of grape farming in Lompoc Valley represents little risk to
public safety, the same is not true of a new prison.

At any given time, 10 percent of prison populations test positive for
illegal drugs. Prison officials must concede that a criminal element has to
at least pass through Lompoc to supply illegal drugs to inmates. It is no
coincidence that the seven inmates who recently went on a crime spree
escaped from a prison in Texas.

Construction of a high-security prison would be bad for Lompoc and bad for
Santa Barbara County. Tell the FBOP to build the new facility in one of the
14 states that have no federal prison or reopen the federal prison in Boron
that was recently mothballed.

Molly Machin, Lompoc