FOLSOM CIVIC LEADERS LOVE TO SING THOSE 'PRISON BLUES'

SLO COUNTY -- Twenty years ago you couldn't talk a town into having a prison.

But a lot has changed in those two decades, said David Sechrest, a criminal
justice professor at CSU San Bernardino.

Opposition declined as communities began to see prisons as a way to
diversify their economies and attract industry, he said. Many towns have
actively recruited prison construction.

Atascadero City Manager Wade McKinney was city manager in the Kern County
community of Shafter when a 464-bed prison opened in 1991.

"The city earned certain profits for operating the facility," McKinney
said. At the time it originally opened, it was equal to the whole city's
sales tax. It was quite a boost."

That boost was worth about $350,000 a year.

The city's goal, however, was to kick-start an industrial sector to
complement the community's strong agricultural background.

It hasn't hurt business. Elk Roofing, which employs about 120 people opened
a few years later.

One of Shafter Community Correctional Facility's next-door neighbors is
Insect Lore. The company continued to grow after the prison opened and now
employs about 25 people full time. It markets science kits and related
goods worldwide. It also operates The Butterfly Celebration, which provides
boxed butterflies to be released at weddings and other events.

John White, Insect Lore's marketing director, considers the prison a "great
neighbor."

Its presence also provide a sense of safety, he said.

Ann Gutcher, manager of the Kern County Board of Trade, said Shafter is one
of several Kern communities to use new prisons to create a diversified
economy.

The prisons haven't affected tourism, she said. "They don't even know
they're here."

At least one prison in California has actually been a plus for the tourist
trade.

Folsom State Prison is known across the country thanks to Johnny Cash's
song "Folsom Prison Blues." Its architecture and thick rock walls also
attract visitors.

Tourists who come to see the city's Old Town or attend craft and street
fairs often ask for directions to the prison, which is popular enough to
have a museum and gift shop, according to Beverly Frazier, the Folsom
Visitors Center coordinator.

All together there are three prisons in Folsom with about 2,200 sworn
officers or guards, according to Joe Gagliardi, the city's director of
economic development. He said that's one of the reasons the city has been
able to brag about having the lowest crime rate in the state.

About 200 employees work at the city-operated community correctional
facility, which opened next to the state prisons about five years ago, he
said.

The prisons help round out a work force that includes 5,000 Intel employees
and 2,000 employees of Aerojet, an aerospace company.

The city's demographics are "extremely high," Gagliardi said. Most
households have two incomes, with the median income $50,000 to $60,000.
Home prices average more than $200,000 -- with the majority in the $300,000
to $400,000 range, he said.

On the downside, Gagliardi said the city-operated facility pays less than
the state-operated prisons. "But I think the benefits of ours outweigh the
negatives."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski