The city of Chowchilla said it was granted a Stipulation and Order temporarily prohibiting the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from proceeding with the conversion of a women’s prison to a men’s prison as a part of the state’s prison realignment plan.

On Jan. 6, a petition for a Writ of Mandate was filed for CDCR’s failure to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Later, the city said it learned that CDCR was moving forward with the conversion. On Jan. 24, the city filed a Temporary Restraining Order against CDCR...

The city of Chowchilla said Thursday it plans to file a legal challenge against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation about the state prison system's attempt to convert the Valley State Prison for Women into a men's prison.

"The Chowchilla City Council feels it is imperative to take necessary steps to protect our community and our rural way of life from the state's planned prison conversion," Mayor Janan Hebert said in a news release. "It's unfortunate that we have to file papers in court in order to keep our neighborhoods secure, but CDCR has left us with no other options."

At the heart of the controversy are fears that families of male inmates will relocate to the area at a higher rate than families of female inmates and overwhelm the city's limited public resources. Also, Madera County District Attorney Michael Keitz has voiced concerns that male prisoners would be more violent and thus require his office to prosecute more assault cases and the county to hire more sheriff's deputies...

Yesterday, officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation travelled to Chowchilla in the Central Valley to talk to locals about the pending conversion of Valley State Prison for Women into a men’s facility. Chowchilla, the closest town to two of the state’s three women’s prisons, has resisted the conversion, worried about the impact of bringing in thousands of male prisoners. CDCR, meanwhile, says that under realignment, the female prison population will drop so much that they won’t need all three women’s prisons. Joshua Emerson Smith covers Chowchilla as part of his job as a McClatchy Reporter with Merced Sun Star and Chowchilla News. Emerson Smith was at yesterday’s meeting and we checked in with him to find out what went down...

Corrections officials tried to appease Chowchilla and Madera County leaders Tuesday during a special meeting to discuss the possible impact from the conversion of Valley State Prison for Women to a men's facility.

The meeting came less than a week before the filing deadline for legal challenges to a self-granted California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation exemption allowing the department to bypass an impact study of the conversion.

Local officials repeatedly have demanded that the state prison system do an impact analysis, accusing state prison officials of violating the California Environmental Quality Act...

Chowchilla's Valley State Prison for Women will be converted to a men's prison in July 2013, even though local officials have voiced strong opposition to the change.

The change is being made because of fewer female inmates and overcrowding in men's prisons, said Dana Toyama, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The prison will hold low- to medium-security adult male inmates, Toyama said Friday...

The city of Chowchilla has an unusual demographic. According to the Census Bureau 40% of the population is in prison. But that's apparently not a problem.

Madera County Supervisor David Rogers puts it this way, "Chowchilla is much like, if I can compare it, like Mayberry, used to be on the Andy Griffith show many years ago."

Like Mayberry, if Aunt B is in behind bars.

Seven thousand women are locked up in the Central California Women's Facility and its neighbor the Valley State Prison for Women. But those numbers are likely to drop...

Officials in Madera County are concerned that one of two women's prisons in Chowchilla may be converted to house men, which they fear could put a strain on local social services.

Chowchilla City Council members discussed the rumored change at their meeting Monday.

A state prison spokeswoman would not confirm Tuesday that a conversion is under consideration but said the prison system is reviewing a number of options for realigning inmate populations...

An all-faith outdoor sanctuary and meditation garden is now available for inmates at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla.

The Chapel of Grace sanctuary and surrounding gardens will be dedicated at a special ceremony at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the prison yard. An indoor chapel previously used is not large enough to accommodate inmates.

The $500,000 Chapel of Grace project was funded through private donations. Don Eskes, Chapel of Grace board chairman, believes the project is the first joint effort of a private entity partnering with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation...