Film on PBS tonight examines effects of building three prisons in one rural county in California

Many rural areas hungry for jobs turn to prisons, private or public, as reliable, good-paying employers. But many residents object, for many reasons. The debates get a lot of coverage, but once the decision is made to accept a prison, there is less coverage of the ramifications. Local journalists might see that as beating a dead horse, and stirring up hard feelings, but what about other rural communities facing the same question? They could use some background, and they can get at least a taste of it tonight on PBS, with the documentary “Prison Town, USA,” part of the public network's series “P.O.V.,” which stands for for “point of view.” (Some local stations air the series at a different time or on a different night, so check your listings.)

The film is about Susanville and Lassen County, Calif., populations 13,500 and 34,000, respectively. They "underwent a substantial makeover with the construction of three huge prisons" about 10 years ago, Neil Genzlinger writes for The New York Times. "The hopes were that the complex would take the place of lumber and other major businesses that were fading. The fears were — well, myriad. The film . . . looks at the big-picture issues Susanville now confronts through a collage of small stories. There are no documentary-style talking heads or charts here, just some very ordinary-looking people trying to find their places in a changed community. . . . The film is light on specifics, beyond the intriguing factoids interspersed in stark white-on-black lettering between scenes." (Read more)

The archives of the weekly Lassen County Times offer more specifics, almost all negative. A search for High Desert State Prison, one of the three correctional facilities in the area, produced 14 stories about riots, murders, shootings, escapes and conspiracies. A search for "prison" produced some articles about economic benefits, including an editorial by General Manager Pete Margolies endorsing construction of the newest prison, a federal facility -- but also other problems. A March 13 story detailed how Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to use the county jail to house convicts sentence to three years or less, instead of the current year or less. It also reported that the state had finally become current in reimbursements to the county for trials of cases stemming from the two state prisons. (Map from MSN Encarta)